Hi, new girl here!

ProjectHalfDone

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Virginia
Hi guys!

I'm from VA. New to owning my jeep (Ok so I've had it like a year) and new to wrenching on it, though I used to pretend to wheel a little with a 4WD club in college. (And by pretend I mean ride along with whoever had a seat open).

I've got a stock 2000 XJ and I'm kind of in love with her. I'm slowly learning about fixing her but would appreciate any help and advice on how to get to know her better.

My big issue...is I don't know how to diagnose issues. And being 14 she's had a few. Right now....she's got rust on the rear frame which my dad is going to fix for me...because I doubt my mediocre welding skills should touch the jeep just yet.

But any suggestions on how I should learn more about her would be appreciated...just get in there and poke around? Haynes manual? Bribe someone to teach me? Youtube? Haha.

Anyway, I'm going to try and post more often around here so I get to know people and the issues they run in to so maybe I can learn that way.
 
peeking in from the socal chapter (because I'm insane and read almost every post on this site daily), but avoid the haynes manual like the plague. chiltons is much better but still sub par, i would try to get your hands on a factory service manual it will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.

welcome to the addiction :wave1:
 
get your hands on a factory service manual it will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.

welcome to the addiction :wave1:


Thanks!

Soooo....upon googling there appears to be a few varieties? Amazon has a one-volume item for $145...then ebay has sets....what should a complete "set" have, or is the all-in-one a better idea?
 
Yep. That's what you want. I got just the thick one for my 2001 and found it for around $50 on e-bay. The whole set would be great, but if you just want to get the service manual, keep shopping. You mentioned Youtube with a "haha" behind it, but truthfully I've done some of my best research watching how to (or how not to do) videos.

Welcome to the club! Hope that you find it valuable enough to eventually decide to become a member. With membership there are forums available that you can't access as just a user, and the membership dues you pay help with NAXJA's land use initiatives.

No questions are dumb questions. We've all been where you are at one point. Ask away.

Good luck - oh, and people on NAXJA tend to like pictures. Post up some shots of the Jeep and any problem areas you might need help with.
 
Welcome! John xjtrailrider can definitely be helpful! If you can come to the crawl this summer and put faces to these names!
 
Thanks everyone!!!

No crawling for me just yet...the XJ is the DD for now. I'm finishing up my PhD so once I'm out of the grad-student-debt-bondage system then I'll be wheeling again. But for now...just gotta get through this next semester and graduate.

Here's the girl's current damage. Rear frame...https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectshalfdone/16359480285/

Dad is going to grind it down and weld a plate on this week...I hope. I know better than to put my hands on this issue. Leaving it to the professional welder. Thankful to be related to one. :clap:
 
Welcome to the club! Hope that you find it valuable enough to eventually decide to become a member. With membership there are forums available that you can't access as just a user, and the membership dues you pay help with NAXJA's land use initiatives.

No questions are dumb questions. We've all been where you are at one point. Ask away.

Good luck - oh, and people on NAXJA tend to like pictures. Post up some shots of the Jeep and any problem areas you might need help with.

If becoming a member means paying dues then I think I did that last year when I joined....where would I look to find out if I need to do that again? Haha.
 
Thanks everyone!!!

No crawling for me just yet...the XJ is the DD for now. I'm finishing up my PhD so once I'm out of the grad-student-debt-bondage system then I'll be wheeling again. But for now...just gotta get through this next semester and graduate.

Here's the girl's current damage. Rear frame...https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectshalfdone/16359480285/

Dad is going to grind it down and weld a plate on this week...I hope. I know better than to put my hands on this issue. Leaving it to the professional welder. Thankful to be related to one. :clap:

The Crawl is everything from easy trail rides to beautiful over looks to wild rock trails that eat jeeps sheet metal for lunch! A little something for everyone! What you studying?
 
The Crawl is everything from easy trail rides to beautiful over looks to wild rock trails that eat jeeps sheet metal for lunch! A little something for everyone! What you studying?

Cool. Most of my prior crawling experiences were with college friends and involved a lot of mud and rock. So...nothing I'd dare take my current, precious, dear, mode of getting to campus so I can graduate, out on. Until I have a backup mode. We did Big Dogs in Winchester, then a lot of stuff around Mountain Lake/Blacksburg area. Bobcat trail, anyone? But I mean I'd gently drive through a field-type trail with her. Haha. Some days I feel like...

333fd838a6d60af7699260c260f376738380b27c2af95198b1fcdddf2066284a.jpg

Sorry it's not an XJ meme. Blame google.

And my area is Agriculture Education. (Think 4-H/Extension Agents). My research interest is evaluation behaviors and culture of evaluation within Cooperative Extension.
 
If becoming a member means paying dues then I think I did that last year when I joined....where would I look to find out if I need to do that again? Haha.

Your name is in black letters. If you were an up-to-date member, it would be in red. You can PM membership if you have questions about when it may have or did expire. We will be doing a big membership drive in March, where anyone that becomes a member or re-ups their membership will be in the running for some pretty nice prizes.

It looks like your join date was December 2013, so even if you bought the 2 year membership it would have expired last month.
 
Welcome!

I was going to share some advice, but others beat me to it!

Definitely keep an eye out for the Crawl in July, over in Kentucky. It's guaranteed not to disappoint!
 
Welcome to the party!!

What's the plans for fixing the rusty spot in the rails?
 
Welcome, the Cherokee crawl is a good time. I drive 300 miles in my jeep every year to wheel there. We even had a few stock ones in the group.
 
Your name is in black letters. If you were an up-to-date member, it would be in red. You can PM membership if you have questions about when it may have or did expire. We will be doing a big membership drive in March, where anyone that becomes a member or re-ups their membership will be in the running for some pretty nice prizes.

It looks like your join date was December 2013, so even if you bought the 2 year membership it would have expired last month.


Oooooo!!!! I'll be looking for that for sure. Thanks for the info!!
 
Welcome to the party!!

What's the plans for fixing the rusty spot in the rails?

So far the plans that have been carried out include flaking the rust off, extracting the rats nest inside, grinding it down a smidge and measuring for the piece we will need.

Dad and husband concocted a plan that involves both bolts and welding because the damage is about a foot long, maybe more. :eek:

Personally I have very limited welding skills. I can throw down a bead but it's not decent and I wouldn't want to put it on the frame. Lol. So...I'm doing the watching and learning portion of this repair. So far, I must say I'm doing a stellar job at it. :clap:

After this, there are a few simple repairs I plan to do myself.

What's killing me...is it's snowing right now and I don't even trust it to do donuts in a parking lot.

ye01dLhVBs


Poor Jeep. She wants to play in the snow so bad.
 
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